Mapping your genome & designing your life is now possible at your fingertips

Genetics has revolutionized the world we see today. Today, we can predict your kid’s personality, intelligent quotient, emotional quotient, talents and athletic performance before he gets into school. Genetics has now taken us into the post-modern era, creating a new stream of genetic science called ‘predictive genomics’ that can predict lifestyle diseases, clinical disorders and even cancer years before it can take birth. Predictive genomics is, however, a once in a lifetime test, that gives you the route map of life, helping you to prolong your illness with a better lifestyle and prepare money in advance for your medical insurance with utmost certainty.

Predictive genomics doesn’t end there, it even discovers the drugs that suits our genome the most, out of many that are available in the market and even the type of diet that suits your genome. In the past, we became aware of our health, diet, drugs and personality until it became a problematic for us or others. But today, we scientifically predict all the negative and positive outcomes of our health, diet, drugs, personality and life as a whole with predictive genomics. For example, a lot of parents struggle with the problem of lactose intolerance in their kids from age 5, a condition in which their body is very sensitive to lactose and triggers symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhoea or vomiting when they take milk. With predictive genomic we can confirm this before the age of 5 and switch to lactose free products in their diet.

Our body is made of trillions of cells. Our cells contain a nucleus as its brain while the nucleus contains many ribbon-shaped chromosomes. Chromosomes are coiled by DNA. A single gram of DNA contains 215 million gigabytes of information. DNA is made of genes as its structural and functional unit. The genes, in turn, are made of 4 different nucleotides, namely adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymidine in diverse combinations. It is the variation in these nucleotides that make us all unique. For example, the MC1R gene mutation gives us red hair.

This variation called SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) is what predictive genomics measure using US-based ‘microarray technology’ by experienced geneticists. Each individual is unique from one to another not only in fingerprints but also in your genetic variations. Your genome controls everything and no one can have the same genetic variations as you do. This makes you entirely unique as a whole, from others.

Predictive genomics helps you in designing your life with genomics. It helps you to avoid a diet that is harmful to you and opt diet that benefits you. It helps you in opting drugs that suit your disease and avoid that is least effective against the disease in your body. It helps you in predicting lifestyle diseases, clinical disorders and even cancer you can get in adulthood, right in your childhood; enabling you to modify your lifestyle and diet to prevent and prolong it, giving you longevity and more happy moments in life with your loved ones.

It also helps you in identifying your negative personality predisposition and avoid an environment that provokes it. It also helps you in identifying your positive personality traits and help you to involve in an environment that stimulates it. Predictive genomic has built the foundation for personalized medicine, where an individual gets his or her treatment suiting one’s own unique genome. It makes you feel you are unique!

Genes and you Biotech scientific research Pvt LTD is a Mumbai based company approved by Startup India. Genes & U, is providing this post-modern genetic test to you at the lowest cost making it affordable for you to genetically screen your DNA and reveal the secrets codes that control your life, thereby helping you to design your life with your unique genome with scientific intervention.

For more information, visit genesandyou.com  and the official Facebook page.

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In his twenties, a young and enthusiastic entrepreneur is on a mission to make India a global leader in manufacturing state-of-the-art furniture.

Vikas exports is a handicraft export company started in 1988 by Aditya’s parents. Mr. Vikas and Late Radhika Agarwal and in 2016, Aditya started the furniture division to expand this company. Aditya got ambitious for the furniture division when he was in London for his studies.

Stimulus Behind Vikas Exports

“During his studies, he saw Chinese-made furniture literally flooded everywhere. He was shocked to find China as the world’s largest exporter with more than $100 billion worth of export in furniture only. Ironically, India figured in the largest importers. This looked more of a challenge to him and he took it up, straightaway.

To gain some insights, Aditya worked in John Lewis’ furniture division in London. And, while he was in Cass Business School City University London, he wrote a dissertation on “The scope for India to become a leading manufacturer of furniture.” However, it did not end there. And that’s where “Vikas Exports” journey to become the World-Leader in Furniture Manufacturing started.

Crafting Success

“Vikas Exports” is a furniture division specialized in minimalistic contemporary furniture of solid wood, metal, and marble that has started in 2016 after the name of Aditya’s (founder) father Mr. Vikas.  

After the fruitful visit and amazing learning from china “Vikas Exports” implemented the idea and built a high-level infrastructure with absolute precision. Later than, decided to start a unit in Jodhpur, after collecting artistic thoughts from the visits in Foshan city of China, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, and Chang Mai in Thailand. Also, Vikas Exports invested its time in small cluster of Sardarshahar, Ratanghar and worked closely with craftsman for optimum production. Adding that “Vikas Exports” found a grey spot in the industry while blending the mastery of Indian craftsmen with the flat pack mechanism of Chinese firms to make their products friendly for mass production and fit for e-commerce.

“Vikas Exports” used auto-manufacturing firms to outsource high-level precision and big-volume metal manufacturing in the beginning and later established its wooden furniture unit in Churu (Rajasthan) and metal fabrication plant in Manesar (Haryana).

The young enterprise is now planning it big and reveals that the upcoming manufacturing unit will be set up in Uttar Pradesh. Its “state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, with most advanced finishing & completely automated conveyer belt systems, is coming up in mid-2021 at ODOP Handicraft Park near the upcoming Jewar Airport where it will be employing over 400 people and project will fetch a turnover of 100 crores.”

Vikas Exports will be employing the differently-abled in its packing department and hire at least 30 percent women workforce, while stressing the company’s concern for women empowerment and the disempowered.

Future Prospects

By 2024, its goal is to fulfil country’s PM’s vision of Aatma Nirbar Bharat and facilitating India’s transformation from a net importer into the largest exporter of furniture, meanwhile providing employment to over 30 million job seekers.

Talking about the team, as the product based and result-oriented enterprise, Vikas Exports have an amazing team of employees, which is more like a big family. Speaking more about the staff, apart from cutting-edge design and trends, “Vikas Exports” designers and team travel around the world to get a feeler of latest trends and materials. This translates into the making of fashionable design products.

At present, “Vikas Exports” has the bulk of its exports to the USA, Canada, UK, and Belgium and the company is planning to excel in other countries also. “Its core focus at this stage is flat-pack furniture and it’s been successful in shifting a lot of production from China,”.

‘Vikas Exports’ is, however, looking for FDI in Manufacturing for very large-scale manufacturing with fully-integrated operations of wood, laminate, marble, metal, and upholstery in new furniture parks announced by the government under the plan to boost furniture manufacturing.

While talking about the major activities of the company after the pandemic, ‘Vikas Exports‘ are in talks with USA-based importers for investment in India and partnering for opening manufacturing units here. If it struck the deal, it will be taking a huge leap towards fulfilling the mission to make India the hub for furniture manufacturing and building the world’s largest furniture manufacturing company, headquartered in India itself.”

The prospects of success for “Vikas Exports” are quite high, given the prevalent market scenario where China encountered with a growing middle-class, increasing land rates and steeply rising wages. Furthermore, the growing tension between USA and China has complicated things for the Chinese firms, hampering their competitiveness badly.

The coming years are going to be the golden years for the respective industry and “Vikas Exports” will be a leader with best-in-class infrastructure, operational excellence, and customer obsession.

More than ever before, “Vikas Exports” is poised very well to increase India’s share of furniture exports and transform it into a global furniture hub with its mass-produced eCommerce furniture.

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Bhatia records his 13-year ordeal in the critically acclaimed book Indicting Goliath and puts out all that he has gone through.

• To Stifle Lal Bhatia’s efforts of exposing large scale criminality, facts were fabricated, and Lal Bhatia was framed to protect individuals, including a number of senior officials within the United States Government. Court Documents reveal.
• Court Documents also reveal that corrupt Government Officials Within the United States Department of Justice accepted bribes to falsely charge, falsely convict and falsely incarcerate Lal Bhatia.
• Numerous questions pointing to crimes conducted by senior officials within the United States Government remain unanswered. Court Documents also reveal.

In his critically acclaimed book, Indicting Goliath, Lal Bhatia, author, relying on court documents, conclusively establishes, that, for favours and bribes, United States Department of Justices’ prosecutor Stephen G. Corrigan; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Special Agent Janet Berry and others fabricated facts to falsely charge, falsely convict and falsely incarcerated him to conceal Seattle based Mon Wig, Managing Member, Wig Properties LLC’s crimes.

In numerous court filings, as demonstrated throughout Indicting Goliath, for example, on December 28, 2010 in U.S. v. Lal Bhatia, U.S. District Court, Northern California, Court Case No.: CR-04-40071-CW, Document Nos. 392-394; Court Case No.: CR-05-00334-SBA, Document No.: 545; Lal Bhatia v. United States Attorney’s Office, Northern California, Case No.: CV-09-05581-SBA, Document No.: 45; and Lal Bhatia v. Mon Wig, Case No.: CV-10-00072-SBA, Document No.: 78, it was deemed admitted and conclusively established that:

Individuals including, Assistant United States Attorney, Stephen G. Corrigan, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Janet Berry, and others engineered and fabricated facts to falsely indict, falsely convict and falsely incarcerate Lal Bhatia, in order to conceal and protect Mon Wig’s crimes, including Wig’s bulk cash currency that was transferred and deposited in safe-deposit boxes at Bank of Credit and Commerce Limited, in London, England (BCCI); and transported in armored vehicles or flown from Mexico into the United States, through Wachovia Bank.

Individuals including, prosecutor Stephen G. Corrigan, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Janet Berry, and others engineered and fabricated facts to falsely indict, falsely convict and falsely incarcerate Lal Bhatia, in order to conceal and protect Mon Wig’s crimes, including, Wig’s bulk cash currency laundered through Barclays, the British Bank; Credit Suisse Group; and ABN Amro Bank.

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Intelligent cameras, that achieve spectral resolution as well, are the next milestone in picture and video processing.

A group of analysts at the Chair of Multimedia Communications and Signal Processing at Friedrich-Alexander-Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg (FAU) has developed such an intelligent camera that achieves not only high spatial and temporal resolution but also spectral resolution.

The camera has a wide range of applications that can improve environmental protection and resource conservation measures as well as autonomous driving or modern agriculture. The findings of the research have been published as an open-access publication. “Research up to now has mainly focused on increasing spatial and temporal resolution, which means the number of megapixels or images per second,” said lecturer Dr Jurgen Seiler.

‘Spectral resolution — the wavelength and thus the perception of colours — has largely been adjusted to match human sight during the development of cameras, which merely corresponds to measuring the colours red, green, and blue.

However, much more information is hidden in the light spectrum that can be used for a wide range of tasks. For example, we know that some animals use additional light spectra for hunting and searching for food.

3 resolutions in one camera

Seiler, who is an electrical architect, has built up a high-resolution multi-spectral camera that enhances human perception with his group at the Chair of Multimedia Communications and Signal Processing (LMS), drove by Prof. Andre Kaup at FAU. It consolidates every one of the three goals – spatial, fleeting and phantom – in a cost-proficient arrangement.

“Up to now, there were only extremely expensive and complex methods for measuring the ultraviolet or infrared ranges of light or individual spectral bands for special industrial applications. We looked for a cost-efficient model and we were able to develop a very cost-effective multi-spectral camera,” said Seiler.

The scientists associated a few economical standard cameras with different ghastly channels to frame a multi-phantom camera exhibit.

“We then calculated an image in order to combine the various spectral information from each sensor. This new concept enables us to precisely determine the materials of each object captured using just one single image,” said Nils Genser, a research associate at LMS.

Simultaneously, the new camera is incredibly better than existing frameworks as far as its spatial, temporal and spectral resolution. As the environmental factors are recorded by a few “eyes” just like the case with human sight, the system additionally gives an exact sign of profundity. This implies that the framework not just definitely decides the shading and certain material properties of items it catches, yet additionally the separation among them and the camera.

Ideal for self-driving and natural innovation

Autonomous driving is a potential application for these new intelligent cameras. “A whole range of solutions to various problems has now opened up, thanks to our new technology,” said Seiler.

“In the infrared range, for example, we can differentiate between real people and signposts using the thermal signature. For night driving, we can detect animals crossing the road with sufficient warning,” added Seiler.

The high-resolution multi-spectral cameras could also be used for protecting the environment and conserving resources. “Several plastics differ significantly from each other in various ranges of the spectrum, which is something the new intelligent camera can reliably detect. Large amounts of plastics are simply burned instead of separated for recycling as they have a similar appearance. We can now separate them reliably,” Genser said.

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In a candid conversation, Dr Vikas Kumar Singh, author of the upcoming book ‘Return Ticket’ gives his insights about concept of “premeditatio malorum”

Even the best laid out business plans can go amiss due to internal factors or external shocks. Just a few months back, who had imagined a world with lockdowns, remote work and education, and virtually a complete stop to international travel? Amid numerous books and lectures on the merits of positive thinking, an important but mostly neglected branch of ancient stoic philosophy is the practice of ‘premeditatio malorum’, or simply stated, the premeditation of evils. The concept dates back over two thousand years and was an integral part of the stoic philosophy in ancient Rome and Greece. Noted stoic philosophers like Marcus Aurelius & Epictetus regularly practiced this technique to eventually overcome all  challenges and downturns of  life with equanimity and strength.

An extreme example of putting the philosophy to practice was another stoic philosopher Seneca; a senator and advisor to emperor Nero. Seneca practiced what is often referred to as ‘preferred poverty’—living an austere life for some days in a month, simply to prepare himself mentally for any negative events  in life .These philosophers knew well that mere anticipation of  downturns doesn’t magically make things easier, but rather the goal is to fully prepare yourself for any unforeseen eventuality. In other words, these ancient stoics engaged in “Practicing Misfortune”. 

Could a concept like this have implications for business practice? In a candid conversation, Dr Vikas Kumar Singh, author of the upcoming book ‘Return Ticket’ gives his insights about concept of “premeditatio malorum” and how it can help any business across the globe to meet unforeseen business challenge and overcome them with ancient Stoic wisdom.

Negative thinking can be good

Scenario simulations or ‘what-if’ analysis is a common practice in MBA classrooms as well as corporate boardrooms. How often do these scenarios include extreme pessimistic situations? Over the past few decades we have been inundated with articles, books, and lectures on the power of positive thinking, both at a personal and professional level. Business leaders and managers are primed for optimistic bias, and constantly seek positive affirmations in their decision making. In this post Dr Singh argues for the equivocally crucial concept of “negative visualization”.

The interconnected business environment across the globe is marked by high competition and uncertainties, unforeseen situations that may challenge a large corporation or a small enterprise alike. These negative shocks could be internal to a company or an industry (e.g. a disruptive innovation), as well as unforeseen social, economic or political threats impacting all players and multiple sectors. Consider for instance Covid19 that has brought huge blow to many businesses across the globe, impacting in particular certain sectors like travel and tourism. Just a decade earlier, collapse of US housing market triggered a global financial crisis.

Due to inherent externalities in the financial sector, US housing market collapse impacted not just the banks directly involved, but also threatened the livelihood of  small organization everywhere in the world , whether its  Dubai , Durban or Dakar. Likewise, Brexit or second lockdown imposed by UK can have far fetching impact all across  Europe. Even minor border  disputes can escalate (as in recent events between  China & India) or small  acts of individuals (e.g. boycott of NBA in China, boycott of French products in the Islamic world) can wreak havoc not only  to businesses directly involved but also to allied industries , like shipping & logistics . In an era of social media and consumer activism, even an innocuous advertisement (e.g Tanishq jewelery  in India) or a minor policy statement can trigger mass consumer sentiment and movements for boycott with campaigns like delete Tik tok , Uber or Facebook !

Project Pre mortem

A useful concept practiced in some organizations is the notion of “pre mortem” in which the project team undergoes a thought experiment assuming the project has failed. Ultimate goal of the exercise is to reverse engineer and analyse potential causes leading up to the demise of the project.  Another similar practice is also popular & it involves ‘think about killing the company.’ Objective here is to pretend that you are the number one competitor of your company and thus apply all your strategies “to put yourself out of the business”. This in turn allows for careful introspection, identify potential weak links & then turn them back on to your competitors. Although simple, these costless endeavours could very well be the difference between firms that grow and survive any eventuality.

Dr Vikas Singh further adds that it would not be an overstatement that ‘pre-meditating of evil’ has almost become mandatory for growth and survival in current global environment.  As noted Stoic philosopher Epictetus said, “We do not control the events around us but certainly we do control the way we respond to those events”. Premeditatio malorum is one of the best (and virtually costless) technique for continued vigilance of potential threats and preparation for the next challenge or downturn round the corner.  “Plan for the worst and hope for the best should be the ideal daily mantra in modern times”, finally sums up Dr Singh.

Dr Vikas Kumar Singh is international marketing strategist and author of upcoming book “Return ticket.” He can be contacted at [email protected]

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